Gaius Marius

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Damn, this recap was almost too good to be true.
The Vehicle Damage System seem to be progressing nicely. This system is adding so much complexity (in a good way) to the game, I'm looking forward to see how it will turn out once it's complete.
Finally, suppression! This will be one of the big changes to the game as it will put an emphasis on teamwork in the games gunplay. But is that a weapon flinch towards the end of the video? The video seem a bit bugged at the end there, but I hope it is a flinch effect.
It's nice to see something is being done about the meatgrinder. I'm wondering if you guys will implement the changes bit by bit to ease players into the new Spawning System?
As someone who plays medic most of the time, I welcome the change to the Revive System as it will put some pressure off the medics and let them join the firefights instead of constantly hiding and I think it will also make the medic role more attractive.
The new interface looks really nice, keep up the good work.
The Fireteam leaders was a pleasant surprise and judging from the picture of the new interface, three color coded fireteams, nice. I think the Fireteam function will have a massively positive impact on public matches. Depending on how great of an impact the Fireteam function will have on Squads teamwork, could there be a possibility of extending the amount of players in one squad from 9 to 12?
I really like the visual details on the tanks. Can we expect future visual updates on vehicles already in the game?
Putting down a pile of ammunition will add an interesting dynamic to the infantry, especially if it can resupply anti-tank weaponry. The video showing off this function has rather low quality, but did I see the option to pick up the ammo bag in the radial menu?
More HAT weaponry is always nice to see.
New map looks like something we will get when we get tanks, right? The updates and visuals to Yehorivka is looking great. It's impressive that you guys can both expand the size of the map and add more details to it.
I have faith that you guys will deliver a fantastic final product, keep up the good work.

This recap was amazing, so many good things, but the part about the new suppression system was the best.
I'm not a huge fan of the sway, but on an optimistic note, the combination of sway and blacking out the corners of the screen might have a massive tunnel-vision effect. The limited vision purely limits your periphery, but the sway might actually narrow the players attention down to his aim. Which is kind of ironic considering that apparently in real life, soldiers have allegedly a steadier aim.
Also, notice in the video how the suppression has to build up for the flinch effect to kick in.

As someone who plays mostly as a medic I welcome this change. The universal revive ability will put some pressure off the medics so they don't need to hang back all the time and can instead join the firefight more often. This will in turn make the medic role a lot more attractive, which is sorely needed considering how Squad Leaders often have to force people to choose that role.
The fact that you need a medic to regain your stamina once revived means that the medic role is still one of the most important roles in a squad. Imagine an entire squad without a medic where everyone has been at some point revived. They would be the most useless squad in the whole team. Their aim would be utter shit, their practically imobile and probably can't see shit.
But now is the perfect time to switch out the medic bag with a saline bag instead. (A purely visual change)
This is what the medic should look like when he is healing someone. It shouldn't be too hard to implement, considering that the medics stance while using the force to heal someone is somewhat similar.

That could work too. There has been some threads laying out some detailed concepts about this. It would be an interesting concept, risking tickets by transporting them around.
Another thing that could be interesting, is not having FOB constructions (HABs, Turrets, ATGMs etc.)disappear when you take out the FOB radio. Make it so that you have to dig up all the assets at the FOB, unless you want the enemies to launch an offensive and regain much of their FOB. Have the FOB assets be worth tickets, so that if the team who owns the FOB don't retake it, they stand to lose additional tickets.

It seems I didn't make my idea clear. What I was trying to say is that spawning on a FOB should cost ammunition points and that when a FOB runs out of ammunition points, they can't spawn there. This would ensure that a FOB on a cap, surrounded by enemies won't be a never ending, undefeatable hornets nest that can spew out cannon fodder till kingdom come.

The meatgrinder problem lies in the fact that the skirmishes never end in a match, but instead drags on for the entire match. I think a solution to this would be to make spawning on FOBs cost ammunition points and give Squad Leaders only one Rallypoint.
Having spawns cost ammunition points would ensure that the never ending meatgrinders we currently have would eventually stop and controlling surrounding areas would be of greater importance, spreading the battles out more on the map.
Squad Leaders having only one Rallypoint would ensure that assaults can end with either the assaulting team winning in the initial attack or lose, instead of the current system where an assaulting squad either win by wearing out the defenders or lose by forgetting to play a Rallypoint. Squad Leaders should only spawn with a Rallypoint at Main and FOBs, but be able to rearm themselves with a new Rallypoint at either an Ammocrate or a vehicle with sufficient ammunition points.

The game often dissolves into a meatgrinder, resembling more the trench warfare of WW1 than depicting a modern conflict. The spawning is one of the culprits behind it. The unlimited Rally Points ensure that a firefight can drag on forever. FOBs on objectives is like a never ending wasp nest that takes ages to get rid of. The flow of the game is honestly horrid.
One way to fix this would be to have spawning (outside of main) cost ammo points. The wasp nest FOBs would eventually die if they can't resuply it. Limit the Rally Points, let SLs carry one RP at a time, but have the ability to resuply a new RP at FOBs and vehicles (since they now carry ammo points).
I think this would make a match have its ups and downs, move back and fourth, instead of the meatgrinder at one location for the whole duration of the match.
I know the devs are looking into the spawning mechanics and I have faith that they will deliver a satisfying end product, but in its current form (and due to me having played it a lot), I find Squad somewhat unplayable.

Nope, and the worst part is that I don't think we get a monthly recap either. V11 focused on the british faction, the addition of IFV's and localized damage on vehicles. Latest update also added ammo carry for all vehicles which IMO is the most underrated aspect of V11.
We will get a suppression overhaul, but remember that even if what we get is insufficient in and of itself, there are other areas of the games design that can enhance the suppression in the game. Squad is developed piece by piece, which is possibly for the best, so we just have to be patient.
(Though I would really like some news on the aspect of the game I consider one of the most important).

Increasing respawn timers and extending the proximity of an enemy player to deny you placing a Rally Point will only make players have to wait longer to actually get to play the game and turn it into a worse walking simulator than it already is, by forcing you to place Rally Points farther from areas of interest.
But I don't see a reason for not letting most vehicles carry ammunition and supplies.
Thank you for your compliment. The issue of balance is solvable, however for the 'spawning tied to ammo' suggestion to work it requires additional overhauls to the game. I think I'll make a in the suggestion board where I go more in-depth on how I envision this could work.
This is the true issue of Squads current state. When talking about the pace of the game, it is not about getting into fight too fast or slow, but the structure of how a match plays out. Squad is not following the story arc.
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is actually built around the story arc. You can alter it to some degree depending on your playstyle, but in the end as the circle grown ever smaller, the players are forced into a more intensive play that eventually reaches the climax in the last seconds of the match. It is squite brilliant really, but I do not think this was a concious intention on the developers side.
Squad, in its current form, is missing this story arc. It is endless firefights with some dead time here and there in the form of walking a vast viritual emptiness.
I also believe this has been a concious strategy on the developers side, and it is possibly the best route to take when thinking long term.
I "grew up" on Bad Company 1 and have little experience of older BF titles, but it did have a rather nice and slow pace compared to it's sequel Bad Company 2, which was far more fast paced and in my opinion marked the shift in the franchise to be the CoD competitor.

The problem with the pace of Squad is the endless wave of spawns from Rally Points and FOBs. The current state of Squad is an endless meatgrinder, it's essentially a WW1 simulator. Rally Points ensure the continuous wave of attackers and FOBs ensure the continuous supply of defenders. You all know how a match plays out, you never lose a firefight, but instead you end up in a never ending meatgrinder that can last as long as the entire match.
The solution would be to have spawns cost Ammunition Points. If a FOB runs out of Ammunition Points, people can't spawn on it. This would place an emphasis on the logistics, making tactics such as encirclement and Logi hunting an integral part of how the game plays out.
To tie Rally Points to the Ammunition Points, have the Squad Leader be able to only carry one Rally Point at a time. Squad Leaders should be able to resupply their rally points at a FOB, but it would cost Ammunition Points.
The ability to carry supplies should be extended to most vehicles, but limit the amount for certain types of vehicles, like shown in this graphic from the kickstarter campaign. It should be possible to replenish ammunition directly from the vehicles.
I think this kind of change would improve Squad tenfold.

If I recall correctly, one of the devs mentioned in the November Recap thread that a new suppression system will not be in v10, but that they were starting to look into it.
I noticed the flinch effect in the recent Post Scriptum videos too. It looks like it is shaping up to be a great standalone game. Remember there are other aspects of Post Scriptum that makes sure it has a far slower pace and overall structure than Squad in it's current state, such as types of weapons and spawning.
Also, I feel a need to shill my own thread on the matter of suppression.

It was actually the jumping bar that gave me the idea of the suppression bar.
Yes, optics would be heavily affected by the flinch mechanic, which is one of the main reasons for an overhaul in the way suppression works in this game. The Automatic Rifleman role is currently useless, but with the suppression bar system it would play an essential role in the game.
That's an interesting idea. It would essentially incentivize people to lay low when being suppressed, something which I believe happen in real life. This would make that a mechanic in the game.
My idea was that explosive weaponry such as grenades, grenade launchers, rocket launchers etc. cause a large amount of SP. They would be used to start the suppression. Grenadier fire one grenade towards the enemy, as soon as it explodes, LMG/GPMG + riflemen start firing towards the enemy. This would mean that the SB would do an inital jump, then have a steady rise. This way, it will reward squads with good teamwork and communication.
Injuring system is a whole different category though, we are currently in the 'not getting shot' category. There was however the idea of a CCP (casualty collection point) being mentioned as far back as the kickstarter itself, but I think they abandoned it. So the idea of an injured system has been on the devs minds.
The point of this suppression idea is to open the window for more tactics that would require teamwork and communication, instead of having it boil down to the players 'point & click' skills.
I honestly do not think the addition of bipods, GPMGs and different weapon handling will have a lasting effect on the way Squad is played. I see no point in not having a discussion on this topic.

So with the coming addition of GPMGs and Devs saying there will be an overhaul of the suppression system, I thought now would be a perfect time to throw in my own two cents on the subject.
The suppression effect should in my opinion rely mostly on a flinch instead of weapon sway or blur effects. Giving people weapon sway when being shot at makes little sense and replacing it with a flinch effect similar to that of Red Orchestra should give the player a more direct and immediate sense of danger and also incentivize them to take cover or fall back.
I know very little on game development, but from what I've seen of the new animation system I think it's possible to make different types of flinch effects.
First you have the standard 'character flinch' where the point of direction the player is facing flinch to one side. I know many people do not like this idea.
Then you have the 'head flinch' where only your characters point of view flinches and not the weapon. I think this is possible because of the free look system.
Thirdly you have the 'weapon flinch' where only your characters weapon flinches and not the point of view. I think this is possible because if you look at the footage from the new animation system you can see the weapon recoil acts independently from the screen similar to the system in Insurgency, but only for recoil.
There should be a 'suppression bar' that needs to be filled up. The way it would work is that each bullet that flies in proximity of a player adds 'suppression points' to that players 'suppression bar'.
Caliber size and weapon type should give varying amounts of points. So the higher the caliber, the more suppression points, explosives even more. Also, the heavier the weapon is, the stronger the effect. A 7.62 bullet would give a greater flinch than a 5.56 bullet, .50 Cal even more so. Explosives should have additional effects such as a short blur effect and muffled sound (not affecting voice chat). This would mean that starting an assault with explosives like grenades and RPGs would give a small advantage since it would put the enemy in a short state of confusion due to the lack of audio and visual information.
Bonus points should be added depending on how close the bullets are to the player. The more accurate your fire is, the better your suppression is. This would reward players with good aim, informative communication and discourage random spray n' pray.
The 'suppression bar' would delete the 'suppression points' at a fixed rate, so it would constantly go down over time. If everyone in the squad that is laying down suppressive fire is reloading their weapons at the same time, it will give the enemy a small window of opportunity to return effective fire, essentially turning the tide of the firefight.
The suppression effect would depend on how filled the 'suppression bar' is.
For example: No effect under 25%. From 25% to 50% there would be a visual effect (similar to what we have now). From 50% to 75% there would be a 'weapon flinch'. From 75% to 100% there would be a 'head flinch'.
The intention of the 'suppression bar' is to firstly make sure that the sudden eruption of a firefight do not instantly turn into a spasm party on both sides. It will also make sure that effective suppression requires team effort, good coordination and communication.
Also, superior firepower would get a whole new meaning.
I do not know what's in the window of possibility, but seeing the amazing work the devs at OWI are doing, I'll assume they can do most of it

With the May 2017 Monthly Recap giving us a vast preview of new animations coming to Squad in the future, I thought I should voice an idea for medic animations.
In the animation preview we saw short clips of applying bandages, but we have yet to see what will replace the current healing animation. For now it consist of the medic touching the patient with his hand and by some in an inappropriate manner followed by some lewd comments.
So I had the idea that instead of magic hands healing the player, we could have a simple animation of the medic using a saline and/or blood bag to heal players. It would look something like the following pictures:
https://www.jigsawmedical.com/wp-content/uploads/hires_070713-F-8769P-227.jpg
https://www.army.mil/e2/c/images/2015/05/26/395708/original.jpg
The animation would start with the medic inserting the IV needle, then holding part of the tube with one hand and the other holding up the saline and/or blood bag till the patient is fully healed. (Holding the tube and bag would actually put the medic in a very similar pose to the current one when you think about it)
I have little to no medical knowledge, but I think this would be somewhat pseudo-realistic and feel a lot more immersive than using the force like some jedi. Saline and blood transfusion would seem to fit in the game when considering the bleeding system and healing basically replenishing the blood loss.
Some issues I see with this is that it would be and look somewhat unrealistic to apply it to oneself, and then there is the issue of how it would look when healing slightly hurt players. There could be other animations for that, suggestions are welcomed. Or saline/blood bag could be used only for incapacitated players.
If the you devs have other ideas or are currently working on them I wouldn't mind you spilling the beans.